


When it comes to my children I will fight with the fangs of a wolf

by BestDeadFriendsForever



Series: d'Artagnan Romances-verse [3]
Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, BAMF d'Artagnan, Canon Era, Charlotte d'Artagnan - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Post canon, d'Artagnan is actually a woman, fem!d'Artagnan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 06:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11434833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestDeadFriendsForever/pseuds/BestDeadFriendsForever
Summary: The children are kidnapped and Charlotte, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos will do anything to get them back.





	When it comes to my children I will fight with the fangs of a wolf

            Charlotte hummed to herself as she walked down the familiar path to Aramis’s study. He’d been watching the children for the day and she’d come to retrieve them. She knocked on the door before slipping inside. Aramis was hunched over a pile of papers and Charlotte smiled as she leaned down to kiss the back of his neck. “Busy?”

            “Always,” Aramis said with a strained laugh.

            “Where are the children?” Charlotte asked and looked around. There wasn’t even a trace of the usual chaos that the four children left in their wake. No toys, no toppled furniture, nothing.

            “They’re with the governess,” Aramis said and gave Charlotte a sheepish smile. “I had an emergency meeting and she offered to take them.

            “Aramis!” Charlotte admonished and he took her hands.

            “I know, I know. It was only supposed to be for a moment or two.” Aramis kissed her hands placatingly. “I’ll come with you to retrieve them.” Aramis stood and dropped her hands. She rolled her eyes at him and nodded.

            “Let’s go then. I’m sure they’ve driven the poor woman out of her mind.” Charlotte loved the children, but they were a handful when they were on their best behavior. At seven, Raoul was full of energy and constantly on the move. Claire, five, would follow Raoul’s lead no matter how much trouble she knew it would get them into. Claire, four, would try to dissuade them but ultimately would end up in the thick of it, and Léon, at just over a year, was dragged along by his siblings.

            When they got to the royal nursery, usually empty now that Louis was ‘nearly grown’ at thirteen, they found it too was empty. Charlotte frowned. “Hello?” She called and studied the room. It at least showed signs of the children having been there.

            Something felt wrong.

            “Minister, madame?” The governess came out from the inner room with a frown. “What are you doing here?”

            “We’ve come to retrieve the children,” Aramis said and his face was screwed up in confusion. “Where are they?”

            The governess went pale and Charlotte felt her breath catch in her chest. “I… I thought… oh no.” She put a shaking hand to her mouth.

            “Where are my children?” Charlotte demanded.

            “A man came, he was dressed like a Musketeer, and he said you’d sent him to collect the children. He knew your names, knew the children’s names.”

            Charlotte had to grip onto Aramis’s arm to keep from fainting. Her children were missing. The children had been taken. Her blood roaring in her ears was the only thing she could hear as Aramis and the governess talked.

            “I think I’m going to be sick,” Charlotte said quietly and Aramis held her up.

            “We’ll find them, Charlotte. I promise,” Aramis said fervently and he tugged her into motion. “I’ll alert the palace guard. Suzette,” Aramis said to the governess, “I’ll need you to come with us so that you can tell the guards what this man looked like.”

            It was Charlotte’s worst nightmare.

            They were at the garrison before Charlotte realized they’d left the palace. “Athos!” Aramis shouted as they ran inside the courtyard.

            Athos and Porthos had been sitting around one of Porthos’s battleplans. They both stared at Charlotte and Aramis in confusion.

            “What-?” Athos started but Charlotte cut him off.

            “The children are missing. Someone’s taken them.” Athos’s face went white and he was immediately on his feet.

            “Brujon!” He shouted and moved to saddle his horse. Brujon frowned as he skid to a halt in front of Athos. “I need you to gather the garrison.”

            “What is it? What’s happened?” Brujon looked between them all in confusion. Rallying the garrison was only for emergencies of the most dire sort.

            “Someone’s kidnapped the children,” Athos said as he tightened the last strap on his saddle. Brujon glanced at Charlotte sympathetically before he rushed to do as he was told. Athos was barking orders to groups of Musketeers as they came out and Charlotte used it as a chance to slip into their room. She pulled on her pauldron and strapped her sword on.

            She walked out into the courtyard and the men around her moved out of her way as she stepped into the stable. She saddled her horse quickly and was leading it out of the stables when the boys stopped her.

            “Where do you think you’re going?” Porthos asked and she glared at him.

            “To find our children,” she hissed. Even Porthos flinched back from her.

            “You can’t go, not in your condition,” Aramis said and he laid a gentle but agitating hand on the swell of her stomach. She was three months pregnant.

            “And which one of you is going to stop me?” She glanced between the three of them and they all just leaned back a bit from her infamous temper. “That’s what I thought.” She mounted up and settled as the others mounted up. She knew they were sending nervous looks over her head but she didn’t have time for them second-guessing her. “I’ll ride to the gate, make sure they close off every exit to Paris.” She kicked her horse into a brisk pace and she didn’t bother to apologize to people walking along the streets.

            She slid from her horse and ran up to the guard tower. “Close the gates!” She snapped and the men on duty stared at her. “Close them now!” They immediately sprang into motion and within a few moments the gates were closed. “Did anyone leave with four children?” She demanded.

            “I don’t know,” the guard said and Charlotte grabbed the front of his doublet and shook him.

            “Think! Did anyone leave with four small children?!”

            “d’Artagnan!” She heard Athos snap and then she was being pulled back away from the guard. “This isn’t going to help,” Athos said quietly and gripped her doublet to keep her grounded.

            “I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to them, Athos.” She ducked her head and hated the way that tears burned at her eyes.

            “We’ll find them,” Athos said and he turned back to where Aramis and Porthos were informing the guards of what had happened at the palace.

            “Keep an eye out and make sure that no one goes in or out until the children are found,” Aramis said. The guards nodded and rushed the inform the rest of their regiment about the missing children.

            “We need to split up, we’ll cover more ground that way,” Porthos said. “d’Artagnan, you need to go back to the garrison.”

            “No!” Charlotte protested.

            “Listen to me,” Porthos said and he set his hands on her waist, his hands cradling the swell of her stomach. “You’re pregnant, you’re upset, you’re angry, and we need someone we trust at the garrison in case of a ransom or if the children manage to escape.” Charlotte took a breath and swallowed thickly. She wanted to help, but she knew that Porthos was right. “And someone needs to be at the garrison for when Constance returns.”

            Charlotte nodded and ducked her head. Porthos pressed a kiss to her hair. “Alright, I’ll go. Promise me something.”

            “What?”

            “The second you find them, you send for me. I won’t stand idly by while our children are in danger.”

            “I promise. Now I need you to promise me something,” Porthos said and smoothed his hands over her sides reassuringly.

            “What?”

            “That you will take care of our children here.” She sighed as he pressed a protective hand over her stomach.

            “Always,” she said and covered his hand for a moment. They pulled away from each other and Charlotte headed out of the tower and back to where she’d left her horse. She pulled herself into the saddle and as she rode she scanned the streets. Every time she heard a child call out ‘maman’ it made her heart ache.

            She slid from her horse and handed it off to the stable boy. She sat down on the table and just waited. She wasn’t sure for what but she waited and she worried. It felt like hours that she was sitting there until a boy came inside the courtyard, peering around nervously.

            “Are you the Musketeer d’Artagnan?” He asked.

            “I am,” she said and strode over to him.

            “I was tasked to bring this to you,” he said and flinched when she snatched the letter from his outstretched hand.

_Bring 4000 livres to Sainte-Chapelle in an hour._

            Charlotte tucked the note into her pocket and immediately leapt into action. “Find the Captain, the First Minister, and General du Vallon,” Charlotte said to the stable boy, “have them meet me in Sainte-Chapelle. Go!” She shoved him and moved into the armory. She grabbed her pistols, a fresh horn of powder and shot, and tucked two more _main gauche_ into her boots.

            She was about to mount up and leave when Constance came back. Her face fell the moment she noted Charlotte armed to the teeth and that the normally busy courtyard was empty. “Charlotte… what is it? What’s happened?”

            Charlotte took a breath. “Someone’s taken the children,” Charlotte said and she hated how Constance’s face turned white and her hands began to shake. “I’m about to go and find them now.”

            “I’m coming with you,” Constance said but Charlotte shook her head.

            “Constance, I need you to stay here in case the children, somehow, manage to escape and make their way back here. Please, do this for me.”

            Constance obviously wanted to argue, but there was logic in what Charlotte was saying. She nodded and that was all the reassurance that Charlotte needed. She kicked her horse into motion and made her way to the specified church.

            Soon it would be dark and though the note said an hour it would, strategically, be better if they were to overtake the captors during the day. She crept into the church and silently apologized for bringing weapons into the church.

            She scanned the widely open church and ducked into an alcove when she heard voices. She heard a scuffle and then a man’s voice swearing. She peeked around the corner to see a man curled around his stomach like he was in pain. When she glanced at the children her heart nearly stopped at the sight of Raoul, obviously the one to throw the punch, standing in front of his siblings protectively. What made Charlotte ache was the split lip that her son was sporting, most likely from one of his captors. It nearly had her shooting them on sight.

            “Nasty little bastard,” another man said and he shoved Raoul back and towards the pews. “Sit down, shut your mouths, keep your hands to yourselves, and we might let you live.”

            “Hardly ideal to kill your hostages before you’ve had your demands met,” Charlotte said, pistols in hand and trained on the men holding the children, as she stepped out of hiding.

            “Maman!” Raoul shouted with wide eyes.

            “It’s alright children,” Charlotte said reassuringly. “We’ll get you out of here in a moment.” The children huddled together and Charlotte smiled at them before turning her eyes to their captors. Her smile turned sharp and dangerous. “So, which one of you is going to be the one to let the children go.”

            “So you’re the famed Musketeer d’Artagnan,” one of them said and eyed her in a way that made her skin crawl. “I have to say your reputation pales in comparison to the reality.”

            “Flattery won’t make me spare you,” Charlotte scoffed. “Let the children go and I’ll kill you quickly!” She hissed.

            “You’re alone,” he pointed out. “And we have your precious children. You are a famed fighter, and I do not doubt your skill. But, you are just one woman.”

            “A woman who will gut you like a fish for laying a hand on her son,” she said and nodded toward Raoul. “Besides, I am not alone. I have a whole garrison of the finest soldiers in France behind me. You are the one that is alone.” She glanced between the two men. The one who’d been doubled over looked nervous and shaky and Charlotte couldn’t help but smile. He would bolt any time now and she’d fire.

            As if reading her thoughts he bolted and with a quick shot he was down. She dropped the pistol in that hand, keeping the other trained on the remaining man, and drew her sword.

            “Coward,” the man spat at his fallen comrade.

            Léon, startled by the loud bang, began to cry. Charlotte shushed him gently while keeping her eyes and pistol on the man. “It’s alright, darling. It’s just a noise.” Raoul stepped over and held his brother. Charlotte smiled gratefully.

            “You’re stalling,” the man said and tucked his hands into his pockets.

            “I won’t endanger the children, but I’m sure you already knew that since you kidnapped them.” Charlotte frowned. “There’s something more here, isn’t there? You don’t seem the type to just steal children for ransom.”

            “Oh, you are clever,” the man grinned but that was all he said before the doors behind her burst open and she heard the familiar clatter of Musketeers behind her.

            “d’Artagnan, are you alright?” Aramis asked and stepped up next to her, his pistols trained on the man in front of them.

            “I’m fine,” Charlotte said. “There were two, now there’s one.”

            “I can see that,” Athos drawled in that familiarly bored tone.  “Raoul, are you four alright?”

            “Yes, Papa,” Raoul said and held onto Léon a little tighter. “I kept them safe, just like you taught me.”

            “Good lad,” Porthos said and smiled at Raoul.

            “Would someone like to arrest this man?” Charlotte asked and glared at her lovers.

            Athos stepped forward. “In the name of the King and the Queen Regent, I place you under arrest for kidnapping.” Charlotte watched carefully as Athos checked the man over for weapons. He had none.

            Athos handed the man over to Brujon. “Pleasure to meet you, d’Artagnan,” the man said and ducked his head in some strange semblance of respect. It made Charlotte feel cold. They all waited until the man was gone before they turned to the children who were huddled close together.

            Charlotte rushed over and dropped to her knees to gather her boys close in a tight hug. She pulled back to place kisses along both the boys’ cheeks. When Athos knelt down, Claire wrapped up in his arms, she let Léon toddled over to his father while she inspected Raoul’s lip.

            “What happened to your face?” She asked and gently tilted his chin so she could see his swollen and bruised mouth.

            “He tried to grab for the others, so I bit him,” Raoul said. “He hit me so I’d let go.” Charlotte hugged him tightly again and ran a hand over his hair.

            “You were so brave, Raoul. I’m proud of you,” Athos said and took Raoul’s hand.

            “Papa, can we go home now?” Raoul asked.

            “Yes, Raoul, we can go home.” Athos let out a relieved breath. Charlotte took Léon and carried him on her hip, holding him tightly. He buried his face in her neck and she rubbed his back soothingly.

…..

            Charlotte couldn’t leave the children alone that night. She and Constance cleaned the children up and then tucked them into bed. Charlotte ran her hands through Raoul’s hair and smoothed it away from his forehead softly. He, Claire, Marie, and Léon were all fast asleep. Constance was sitting on the other side of the bed. The boys were at the palace, apprising the Queen Regent to the events of the afternoon.

            “I’ve never been so scared in my whole life,” Charlotte said softly. “Even all the months of looking over our shoulders when Grimaud was still alive, I’ve never felt so… it was complete, mind-numbing terror.”

            “Back then it was just your life on the line,” Constance said. “Granted, you had us and we’d have brought you back to kill you ourselves, but it’s different.” She ran her fingers through Claire’s hair. Charlotte nodded and settled her hand over Léon’s chest just to be able to feel him breathing.

            There was a light knock and they both turned to see Athos standing in the doorway, looking exhausted. “They’re asleep?” He asked and moved inside the room. Constance hummed and turned back to the girls. “I’m glad they’re not too distressed.”

            “They’re strong,” Charlotte said and leaned over to kiss Léon’s forehead. He snuffled in his sleep and shifted closer to Raoul for warmth. It made Charlotte smile.

            “You should get some rest,” Athos said and kissed her head. “I’ll watch over them for you, if you like.” Charlotte nodded and she bit her lip before standing. Her back ached from sitting so long and she placed a hand on her stomach.

            She was too shaky to sleep so she just laid in bed. After a while Aramis and Porthos joined her. “How are you feeling?” Porthos asked and settled next to her.

            “Like I maybe never sleep again,” Charlotte said and rubbed at her temples. “I know it’s ridiculous, but I-I don’t want them out of my sight.”

            “It’s understandable, _mi amor_ ,” Aramis said and gently kissed Charlotte’s cheek as he stretched out beside her. “And I’m sorry.”

            “It’s not your fault,” Charlotte said and grabbed his hand. “Don’t blame yourself, Aramis. This could have happened with anyone.”

            Aramis watched her for a moment and then relaxed, nodding.

            “You should get some rest,” Porthos said and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “We all should.”

            Charlotte nodded and she settled, but something buzzed insistently in the back of her head. She kept feeling like she should be checking on the children. Finally, she gave in and got up.

            She was careful not to jostle Porthos or Aramis as she slipped out of the room and towards the children’s room. Constance was settled in bed next to Marie and asleep. Charlotte looked at where Athos was slumped but still awake.

            “You look tired,” Charlotte said and brushed a hand over his hair. “Get some sleep.”

            “You should be sleeping,” Athos grumbled.

            “I can’t sleep. Not really,” she said. Athos pulled her into his lap and she rested again his chest easily.

            “They’re not going anywhere,” Athos reassured and pressed a kiss to her neck. She nodded but the only thing that seemed to help was the sight of her children, safe and sound.

            “I know,” Charlotte said.

            “Come,” Athos said and gently stood her up. “Constance will watch over them.” Charlotte hesitated but then nodded. The day was beginning to catch up with her even with her reservations about the children. She brushed one last kiss to both boys’ foreheads before she let Athos guide her back to bed.

**Author's Note:**

> So there's that. I wanted to write this idea after I watched the final season of Reign and little baby James was kidnapped. I could see Mary's reaction being very much like Charlotte's so I wrote this.


End file.
